How you should NOT treat your workers

This short skit is a hilarious look at how you should never treat your workers in the workplace. When it comes to the rights of workers, Islam has always been very clear on how they should and shouldn’t be treated. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ always emphasised the importance of looking after those who are under your authority, and the employee is definitely no exception. Many narrations of the Prophet stress the importance of paying your workers on time, avoiding overburdening them, treating them with respect and of course being lenient when need be. Abdullah ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him, said,

“Pay the worker his wages before his sweat has dried.” Sunan Ibn Majah (Sahih)

Jabir bin Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“May Allah have mercy on a person who is lenient when he sells, lenient when he buys, and lenient when he asks for payment.” Sunan Ibn Majah

When we look at the treatment the Prophet ﷺ showed towards those under his authority, we see he displayed the epitome of gentleness and mercy. Anas Ibn Malik narrates that “I served the Prophet ﷺ for ten years, and he never said to me,

“Uf” (a minor harsh word denoting impatience) and never blamed me by saying, “Why did you do so or why didn’t you do so?” Sahih Al Bukhari

Kind and fair treatment, of course, extends to both the employee and employer. It is important that both parties are just in their dealings with one another and uphold the trust that exists between them both. As Allah mentions in the Quran

“Those who are faithfully true to their Amanat (all the duties which Allah has ordained, honesty, moral responsibility and trusts etc.) and to their covenants” Holy Quran 23:8

May Allah allow us to embody the principles of honesty, trustworthiness, and uprightness in the workplace in all our dealings.